Three summers ago a delicious competition was born. A group of friends and family were spending a long weekend together in Muskoka, relaxing, eating ... Being competitive in nature, they soon formed teams made up of international competitors from Canada and Australia. The objective; to out cook, out eat and out perform. The first 'Muskookoff' had each team cook for an entire day. They would be judged on taste, presentation, whole day experience and x factor. You know, that little something extra.
Muskookoff 2010 took place a few weeks ago. The rules were changed slightly. Each team only made one meal. The enthusiasm however was as keen as ever.
Our first meal was with an Italian theme dining on bowls of pasta, many bottles of wine and gifts for the children. The next day we were treated to breakfast made from homegrown and local produce. The biggest highlight (even for this vegetarian) was the introduction of bacon jam . With two teams still to compete we were all ready to throw in the towel and declare them as the winners. Team bacon jam also organized with team three to create a treasure hunt for the kids. Serious X factor. That though deserves it's own post.
My team closed the competition with a cottage themed brekky. Eggs benedict, a stack of fresh trashy mags layed out on the dock and my mother's Tom Thomson inspired the canoe centre piece.
It was team three's efforts though that took the prize in the end. They had organised a late afternoon painting session for the kids. We were then all asked down to the dock for pre dinner drinks. We were greeted with a rustic Christmas tree decorated with the children's painted artwork and mulled wine.
Christmas music played in the background as presents were handed out. I received a new MacBook! Hang on this is my MacBook.
The greatest feat was dinner. We not only had a traditional turkey dinner, but dishes representing different traditions and cultures of the other competitors. X factor! Perogies from the Ukraine, prawns from Australia, sweet potato mash and marshmallow from the US.
Another delicious and impressive round. Until we are all together again.
Congratulation team Drikel. Valiant effort.
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